Faces of Freight Rail: Kent Pinson

Locomotive Engineer, Fuel Master Facilitator
Union Pacific

When Kent Pinson trains fellow locomotive engineers for Union Pacific’s (UP) Fuel Masters Unlimited, the freight railroad’s renowned fuel conservation program, he often shows them a poster published by his employer. It shows an Olympic–sized swimming pool with the message: UP consumes enough diesel fuel to fill this pool every four and a half hours. “It puts into perspective how much fuel it takes to haul the goods Americans need every day,” says Pinson, a UP veteran of 37 years. “The first year we put this program into effect, we saved about 2 million gallons of fuel in the Portland, Oregon area. That’s a huge number, one I’m proud of.” Pinson pauses for a moment. “Maybe it’s time for a new poster,” he says.